Nesquehoning baby fights cancer

CAROL ZICKLER/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS Luke Jachowicz of Nesquehoning appears with his two sisters, Jenna, 2 and Lily, 6. They are the children of Joe and Stacy Jachowicz.

By CAROL ZICKLER TN Correspondent tneditor@tnonline.com

Luke Jachowicz of Nesquehoning will be one year old on October 31. Since August 16 he has been visiting doctors and diagnosed with a Wilms tumor on his left kidney. The very next day, he had the kidney and tumor removed. The disease, also known as nephroblastoma, is now stage 3 and was found tobe inhis lymph nodes.

After that day the lovable little tyke had radiation treatments for eight days at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. Doctors say this is a high curing disease and found in young children.

Since August 22 he goes for chemotherapy every Friday at Lehigh Valley-Muhlenberg until February. Then more tests will determine whether Luke's cancer has been cured. He will ease into an every three week pattern of chemotherapy and just go to the hospital to be seen by the doctor each week.

Luke's mother, Stacy said they are hoping and praying that after the chemotherapy the doctors will find that everything is okay with Luke. In the meantime Stacy's friends Tracey Evans and Sue Heckman of Nesquehoning have planned future fund raisers in support of Luke.

Luke is the son of Joe and Stacy Jachowicz and has two older sisters, Lily and Jenna. His parents are both Bloomsburg University graduates.

While Stacy was pregnant there were problems. Luke had an identical twin brother who did not survive. And they thought everything would be okay with Luke until in August when helost his appetite. That was when they took him to the doctor and they ran tests and found the tumor.